You still ran from him. Because why wouldn't you!? Whenever you let your guard down, or rather, when he felt like it--he'd toy with you. But the more he riled you up and left you high and dry, the more you reverted to how you were before this little game started.

You don't like the effect he has on you. How he breaks down the walls you took years to build. How easily you submit to him. How easily he gets under your skin and how he gets you under his. How your body always betrays you.

But most importantly, you hate how you always want more.

At first, you only pulled back little by little. You didn't owe him an explanation why. You still don't. You're tired. Tired of glancing around the room for his stupid cowlicks. Tired of listening for his voice. Tired of hiding. You're a Cleaner, godammit!

You've killed scarier things than him.

So, pretty soon, your avoidance turned into more. Flirting.

Just...not with him.

As soon as the day started, you'd been all over Enjin. Laughing at his dumb jokes, sitting together on the couch, legs across his lap--the whole nine yards.

You've always been two sides of the same coin, after all. Using other people's reactions to escape your fear of intimacy, not that either of you would say that bar-for-bar. Enjin liked to chase after multiple women to do it. And you liked to push and pull with others to do it.

So when you flirt with each other, it's comfortable. Safe. A game with no stakes other than to make the other laugh. (Or shove each other.) It's nothing you two ever took seriously. Not that anyone looking in from the outside would know that, though.

Enjin's hand fell on your knee, where he drew mindless circles with his thumb. You didn't shiver or react. He took a long drag of his cigarette, "You're staring, dollface."

You rolled your eyes. You were not staring. Zoned out in his general direction, sure. "Just wondering how someone can be so handsome and so ugly at the same time."

He grins. "See, it's just--Hey!" He blew a puff of smoke directly at your face, and you groaned dramatically. "Watch your mouth."

And you grinned, more than ready to use your favorite set of words. "Make me."

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, because that's when Tamsy walked by.

His eyes flickered down to Enjin's hand on your knee. Then up to your face. He didn't even pause in his step. Just raised an eyebrow, as if huffing out a chuckle and asking, Really? Like he was challenging you instead of being caught off guard.

It pissed you off. It shouldn't have mattered. You'd been pulling away. It shouldn't have gotten under your skin. But it did. And it pissed you off. It pissed you off more that it pissed you off!

So next time, you really ramped things up.

You leaned over Semiu's shoulder, chest flush against her back as you glanced at her magazine. Surprisingly, she wasn't reading one of the risque ones today. What a shame. You could've teased her about that.

But that just gave you a different opportunity. So, of course, you took it.

"You're not getting bored with the models, are you?"

She flipped the page and rolled her shoulder - a half-hearted attempt to shrug you off. "Wish I would. I think I might buy a new set."

You leaned closer, chin pressing into her shoulder as she pointed to one of the women. Or rather, the black lace set she was modelling. Black, cute, and clinging perfectly in all the right places..

For a split second, an idea crossed your mind. Maybe you could buy them. Yeah! That would catch Tamsy off guard. It'll be worth the look on his face the next time he—

You stopped yourself. No. Hell no. It was supposed to be no thinking about Tamsy today!

So you tilted your head to catch Semiu's eye, and let your voice drop into that familiar tone. "Can I snap the band when you put them on?"

She made a sound between a scoff and a laugh, then swatted at you with her whole arm. You laughed loud and jumped back, ready to make your escape. But you turned, and there he was.

It was fast. Crazy fast. But you saw it. His eyes were dark, unreadable, with his lips pressed into a thin line. But when your gaze met his, it immediately disappeared behind another closed-eye smile.

Yes! You were getting through to him!

His voice cut through the air smoothly. "You're with Team Eager today. Corvus' orders."

But just like that, you had the wind knocked right out of your sails.

No worries, though! You were still riding your high. It might've been denial, yeah, but you had no reason to stop now. Don't get it wrong! You still weren't getting within touching distance of him. But you were a lot more confident pushing his buttons after that crack in his exterior earlier.

You lounged in the trunk of the car, playing it off as being too cramped to take the only free seat next to Tamsy. You hummed to yourself and folded your arms behind your head, unbothered by his staring. You strutted ahead of the group when you arrived, appearing way too eager to find the missing person and get back to HQ. You had better things to do.

And you did! All things that included ignoring Tamsy.

And it's not like he couldn't take the hint. He just didn't like it.

The group started its search in an abandoned building some ways out of town. As soon as you stepped in, you felt him at your back. Quiet, steady, and all around you at once. He tried cornering you, hand slinking around your waist and resting over the small of your back like it needed to be there. You didn't turn around when he leaned in close enough to feel his breath on the shell of your ear.

"Are you feeling alright today? You can tell me."

A shiver crept down your spine before you could help it. He always did that. Always found those spots that would make you shake and chase his hand with your body. And you fell prey to it every time. But even if you couldn't keep control over your body, you could snap your head to the side to hide your expression from him, "I don't have to tell you anything."

Just then, the rest of the group had slowed. They were sending you glances, some slowing down so you two could catch up. And it would've been too suspicious to keep hanging back, right? You shot him a knowing grin and made your escape, strutting ahead of him like you did before.

But you really should know better.

He pressed the top of Tokushin against the back of your thighs as you walked. And when you didn't immediately react, he nudged the instrument between. You tripped with a yelp.

You turned to glare at him, but he only chuckled. "I hope you don't think you're untouchable."

You...didn't know what to say to that. Technically, he already was touching you. And he would whenever he wanted—ugh! You rolled your eyes and stepped over his instrument, moving to catch up with the group like you hadn't been seconds away from combusting.

You could feel his stare burning holes into the back of your head. Looks like your lack of response did more than if you had said anything.

Because the next time he cornered you, his fingers shook.

He was cracking.

His fingers ghosted over your skin. Enough to feel him there, but not enough to feel the tremble. His fingers brush over your back, down the side of your legs, then back up again. Trembling.

..and you squirmed. 

Like you were annoyed.

He narrowed his eyes at you. They were dark again. Unreadable.

But you turn your expression away again. "We should really focus on the mission. I’ll pay attention to you after, ‘kay?” 

You didn't stick around to see his reaction that time either. Maybe a part of you was scared that you were pushing back too much. Being too bratty. Too much to handle. But the other part, completely hot and frustrated, didn't seem to care.

While ducking and dodging Tamsy, your group finally encountered the missing person. They were surrounded by a bunch of small trash beasts, unfortunately. But that's what you were there for, to clean up the mess.

Delmon used his high-pressure nozzle to take out a good number of them in one fell swoop. While Tamsy's vital instrument grew to its full size, weaving around the remaining ones to pull the hostage out with scary precision.

He turned to you, "Take them downstairs where it's safer."

You snorted. You crushed the last trash beast under your heel and the crunch was deafening. Mission's done and dusted, and he's still trying to order you around? And would it have been so bad to take orders from him? You swallowed the thought. "Make me."

A moment passed. You could hear the hostage gasping for air. Delmon shook his hands of debris. Your supporters rushed to fret over the hostage. The air grew thick. Quiet. Just as deafening as the earlier crunch under your shoe. But you and Tamsy were the only ones to take notice.

Then, like all those times before, Tamsy turned his head and coughed into his hand.

But...no. No, he wasn't coughing.

He was laughing.

His shoulders shook as he tried holding back his laughter. He wasn't intimidated.

Wait…was he ever?! 

All those times before, he was trying to hold back his laughter.. The only difference this time was that he failed at hiding it. Or maybe he failed to because he wanted you to know. All those times you were so sure you'd gotten a reaction out of him. He was just indulging you. Playing along. Letting you believe you had the upper hand once.

Your chest tightened with something you couldn't quite place. 

But when his voice dropped, you knew immediately.

"The hell do you think you're talking to?"

Nearly every muscle in your body reacted. Heat moved all around you, rising to pool in your cheeks, and falling to freeze your limbs stiff. You felt hot and humiliated all over, and it made you press your thighs together instinctively.

No. You don't like this.

You'd never fully encountered it before. It was always hushed whispers, light touches, and giggles. You didn't know what it felt like when he stopped playing around. When something sharp cut into his tone. When his eyelids lowered, not with hunger, but with something predatory.

Shit. You swallow. Shit! You don't like this. You don't need to explain yourself–you don't! His eyes, glowing and lowered, drag over your poor, pathetic, exposed form. You don’t like this. You don’t like your reactions. You snap your head right, looking away.

You didn't have any time to react before he slammed the handle of Tokushin against the floor. The sound, the crack, made you whip around again.

The floor cracked at his feet. Then, the cracks continued to split in every direction. Until it shattered and broke away. You and the others start to fall--with nothing but the bottom floor to break it.

Or, well, the others and the hostage.

You never hit the ground.

His threads caught you as soon as the floor disappeared from under you. They tightened all around you too quickly. Too tightly. Stretching your arms and legs out in the most embarrassing starfish you could imagine. And before you could get your bearings about you, you were flipped upside down and positioned in front of him.

And that's how you got here. A whole day of toeing the line, pushing buttons you thought were there, and a sore, sore loss.

Your face flushes, both from the blood rushing to your head and from the way Tamsy's looking at you. His gaze drags over your body, put on pretty display by none other than his truly, and the ropes across your chest tighten in sync with his eyes. You gasp. He definitely did that on purpose.

He reaches forward and forces a finger under the rope around your thigh. You hiss. The forced fit burns. Even more when he tugs it away from your skin--and lets it snap back.

You jolt, and the movement bounces all around the web around you. You’re gonna have red marks all over once this is over.

"That was a nasty battle, wasn't it?" Like hell it was! His tone is light, mocking you with his fake sympathy. "Hurt your head, did you?"

A rhetorical question. He doesn't expect you to answer. Not with the way he's letting his smile bleed over into his words. He thinks he's so funny. You weren't trying to get under his skin because something was wrong with your head!

"Here, I'll check you for injuries..."

You gasp when his hand lands right on your upper thigh. You aren't used to him skipping over the slow, teasing touches. He grips the skin there, ropes and his fingers making the fat spill between whatever little space it can find.

Then, he moves down to the dip in your thigh, right next to your crotch. You strain against his threads, hoping to close your legs. But he tilts Tokushin, and they’re forced further apart. He places his fingers right on the front of your shorts, making a ‘V’ shape with his fingers, and dragging it down. "You're not hurt here?"

Why the hell would you be hurt there?! He doesn't say it, but that grin on his face says it for him! Keep struggling.

He spins you upright again, putting you in a position that might just be more embarrassing than the first one! Pushed forward so that your back arches a little too deep, arms pulled back, and your legs shoulder-width apart. He lifts one string to duck under, then steps over another to move behind you. He’s completely hidden from your view now. You can’t turn or tilt your head back because of the threads. It worries you. Because now you really don’t know where he’s gonna touch. 

He places a hand on your hip, and your whole body seizes. It’s impossible to relax like this! He nudges his fingers under the rope again, giving you an uncomfortable squeeze at your hip. You hold your breath, bracing, in case he decides to snap it again. 

But he doesn’t. He just wiggles his fingers back and forth, making you squirm from the burn. Once he’s satisfied–you guess–he moves his hand to follow the line of rope. Over your hip. Over your upper thigh. Over your lower back.

He stops there. And you let out the breath you’re holding.

Until he pulls you back using the rope. 

You gasp. You strain against your restraints, desperate to put some distance between your body and Tamsy’s. But that only makes you more aware. Aware of how his waist presses right against your rear. Your skin can’t possibly get any hotter. 

He leans over, nudging his knee (not that he had to much nudging) between yours and resting his chin on your shoulder. His hands curl around, playing with the ropes at your chest. 

“I can,” He pulls on the rope. “..and will break you.” He pulls again, and you can only bite your lip. Your stomach’s reacting in ways you don’t like. “Again, and again, and again, and again.”

Finally, after all that, he has the nerve to pull away. The ropes start loosening all around you, deflating, just like your excitement. You land on your feet, shakily, and in disbelief. He’s….He’s fixing his tie? He takes a breath, “I hope you don’t forget again. But if I—“

You lunge at him.. Your lips crash against his; a messy collision that’s full of teeth and frustration. Like a newborn fawn, your legs threaten to give out under you. But even still, you refuse to let him slink away. You need to do something about this right here and now, dammit! You need this. You need him! 

You throw your arms around his neck and tangle your fingers in his hair. He isn’t kissing back. Those stupid cowlicks, which you’ve decided to call them, brush against your cheek. You deepen the kiss, licking into his mouth with a fervor that surprises even you. And he lets you.

But he still isn’t kissing back.

He grabs your shoulders, firmly grabs them, and forces you back.

His cheeks are flushed, eyes wide, and breathing heavy. His lips are wet, making the string of saliva that connects them to yours all the more noticeable. You press your lips together, and it breaks. His hair’s come down on one side - letting the blonde and navy locks cascade over his shoulder. 

Shit. This isn’t the time to be thinking about how beautiful he looks! Did you just get rejected? Is this not what he wanted? Was it really all just a game to him? Did you assume again?

But immediately after, his eyes glaze over with something more hungry than you’ve seen before. He pounces on you the same way you just did to him, and it’s suddenly too hot for you to handle.

You scramble to catch and hold on to some part of him. His shoulders, tie, sleeve—but he groans into your mouth when you catch the roots of his hair. And that just makes you want to hold them more. Kiss him more. Taste him more. Meanwhile, he knows so much of you already. He knows where to anchor himself. Where to hide himself. He holds you, one hand on your hip, and the other around your neck. He doesn’t squeeze. He just holds you there so you remember who’s holding who.

“Tamsy..” You whisper between the breaks in the kiss. 

He pulls away, just a fraction. “Keep saying my name like that and who knows where we’ll be.”

“If it’s you, then anywhere’s fine.”

.

.

.

When you and Tamsy finally make your way outside, the air is thick. Not the air of the Ground, which is always heavy with stink and rust. No. The air between the other cleaners. It's Awkward. Capital A.

If they were talking before you came out, there was no sign of it now. Every pair of eyes snaps over to you two. Dead silent. You watch, small, as their eyes lock in on Tamsy's hair, completely come undone and sticking up in places now. Then they scrutinize you, with rope marks, other marks, and cuts all over your skin and uniform. You can just feel their questions pressing down on you.

God, you wished the ground would swallow you up right now.

Tamsy, of course, doesn't seem to care in the slightest. He lifts an arm, lazily waving his sleeve at the group as you both approach. "Goodness, got a little turned around in there! Hope you weren't waiting long."

The faces the group and the hostage make, like a parent’s disappointed side-eye, make your cheeks burn. Nah, you’re sure this time. This is the most embarrassing moment in your life.

Delmon isn't fazed. He knows better. He's had a wife before.

Tamsy also isn't fazed. He just laughs, urging the rest into the car to get home.

But, of course, not before pressing his hand against the small of your back again. And when you shiver, he grins. Because no matter what, when he touches you, you’ll always shiver and shake..

"And you, my little plaything.." He leans in close, a squeeze to your arm here, a kiss to your cheek there. Then, he whispers. "You've been such a big help." 

Your skin heats everywhere you can feel him.

You know what? Maybe being his plaything isn’t so bad.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕​ ﹒❥ 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀 ❥ ﹒ 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 : @i-am-100-zanka-wife @kameyyy @ce1estial-maiden @starsilluminateourgalaxy @princess-poolia @miskwaadesiwag @artwitchh @seraphim-love @hanagasuminobyakko @cristal494 @kietsusae @gravest0ne @tommysuptonogoodagain @iloveshidou123

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